Love is in the Air
by pumpkinpiespice
Summary: (Now Updating: MerDer) AU. A collection of stories featuring all of our favourite couples: Calzona, MerDer, Slexie and more.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I supposed a lot of you should have watched the movie Valentine's Day (starring McDreamy and McSteamy!) Well, this basic idea of this story is similar to the movie. It's actually a collection of short stories featuring different couples, and each character are going to be related to the others. Please read and review! I will be so so so happy to see your comments! :D

Ps: All of the stories from this collection is set in Washington D.C. And I know absolutely nothing about law so please bear with me if there's any mistakes.

* * *

Chapter 1 (Calzona)

 **Callie Torres: 37, Family law attorney at Avery & Grey**

 **Arizona Robbins, 35, New international law attorney at Avery & Grey**

Callie Torres used to think that the DC is a cold, distanced place and she never liked it here. Everyone is so busy with their own agenda and seldom has the time to care for one another. If it wasn't for her wonderful job at the best law firm in the states, Avery & Grey, she will never even consider living here.

But this morning, she realized that all of these are crap. Walking on the Arizona Avenue, she feels like everyone is looking at her, like all of them knows about her secret, like everyone in this city knows that she doesn't have her panties on.

 _'_ _Really, it is just a tragic accident, not some horny porno plot.'_ She kept saying this to herself silently, trying to convince herself to believe that she didn't become that kind of women, who would sleep with anyone because of loneliness… No. She refuse to admit the fact that she is now Meredith Grey.

"Callie Torres speaking. Oh hey, Yang." Callie's phone rang in her handbag, she searched for her phone in her giant messy bag, and successfully answered it before it stops ringing.

It is her colleague, aka best friend since law school, Cristina Yang calling. The two women didn't like each other much back then, but as they are both somehow related to Meredith Grey, they started to develop a twisted friendship and eventually working in Avery &Grey together. After all these years, Callie can proudly present Cristina as her best friend.

"Where have you been? The meeting starts at 10:30, it is almost 10 now. Catherine Avery is so going to kill you if you are late." Cristina screamed with her signature sarcastic tone.

"I know! I am on Arizona Avenue now so I should be… oh crap." Callie answered, and the name "Arizona" triggered some bad memories from the night before. She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to shake away the face of that woman from her mind.

"What crap?"

"Nothing. Actually, I do need something from you." Callie hesitated, but she really don't have a choice apart from asking Cristina. "Can I borrow one of your spare panties?"

"What? Why you would need a spare panties? And why on earth would you think I have a spare panties with me?"

"Oh save it Cristina Yang. I saw it in your office once. I would say it is because you need to prepare yourself to answer to the booty calls from Major…"

"Okay stop!" Callie smirked as she heard her friend "begging" her to shut up. _'Yay for Callie Torres!'_ This is probably the best thing that have happened to her on this morning.

"I would be arriving in ten minutes. Meet me at the ladies' room. Thanks Cristina!" She rambled and threw her phone into her bag, then walked towards the building where Avery & Grey located.

Avery & Grey is the best law firm in the United States. Found by widely renowned attorneys Harper Avery and Ellis Grey, working in this firm is a dream shared by thousands of law students. In order to secure its status among all the other law firms, Avery & Grey hire talented lawyers from almost every field of the law profession. Callie Torres is the head of the family law unit, while her friend Cristina Yang is responsible for the criminal law unit. Along with their boss Catherine Avery and head of environmental law unit Jackson Avery, Avery &Grey remains as the best law firm in America despite retirement of Harper and Ellis.

Callie squeezed herself into the already crowded elevator, ignoring the disapproval glances from the others in the elevator. She closed her eyes as the elevator started to go up slowly, trying to forget everything happened last night. But her brain just won't follow her orders…

* * *

It was the wedding of Callie's high school classmate last night. Despite her super busy job, she still gladly went to the party for a chance to catch up with her classmates.

"Hey Callie! Where are your wedding date?" Her best friend, Mark Sloan approached her and asked.

"I don't have one, okay? But I would rather be alone than bringing Shepherd as my date."

"Ouch! Do you know how many woman wanted to go to weddings with me?" Derek pretended to be hurt and joined the conversation. "Seriously though, you still hasn't got a boyfriend? Don't tell me you are still in love with George O'Malley?"

"What? No! I don't have a boyfriend because I am a lesbian!"

"Well then why you hasn't got a girlfriend?"

"Because I am a great attorney who is too busy to kick ass! I don't have the time to date!"

"You never tried Tinder?" Mark frowned and asked. Derek and Callie rolled their eyes together and refused to continue their conversation with Mark.

"Ignore him. Mm, saw that blonde woman over there? The one talking to the bride with a glass of champagne in her hand?"

"Yeah, then?"

"She is a lesbian." Callie looked at Derek who is smirking at her suggestively and asked,

"You don't… You are not asking me to hit on her do you?"

"Of course! Weddings are great opportunity for hooking up. Drink your liquid courage and go flirt a little with her. Ask for her number but don't ask her out yet. Wait for her to call you."

"Whoa. First, I know how to hit on girls. And second, I am so not going to flirt with her! I am not those kind of people who hit on women in weddings!" Callie gave him a disgusted look and went to the bathroom. She quickly typed a message asking for help from Cristina. After promising to bring Cristina lunch for a month, Callie finally got Cristina agree to save her from hell.

So, 20 minutes later, Callie waved goodbye to Derek and Mark with an apologetic expression on her face. She pretended to be having an important phone call and quickly get into a cab. She sighed in relief and told the driver the name of her favourite bar.

Just because she does not want to spend time at a wedding, doesn't mean she wanted to go home and be alone.

She found a seat by the bar table and waved to the bartender, Joe. He nodded and gestured for her to wait for her usual drink. Moments later, a shot of tequila appeared in front of her. Without much thinking, she gulped down the whole shot and asked Joe for another one.

"Ah… You have no idea how much I needed this. It is hard to be a single attorney nowadays. You wanted to sate someone, but you don't have the time to do so because you have to handle messy family business for your clients. Which sometimes makes you wonder, why the hell so many people have got the time and the energy for adultery? I mean, I barely have time to sleep! And yet they got time to screw their secretary, or their yoga coaches, or their co-worker? It's unfair!" Callie rambled at the bartender non-stop. Normally, he would be really interested to listen to her crap, but today, he keep looking at her with a strange face.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Callie asked. Joe pointed behind her. She turned around, and saw a beautiful blonde woman smiling at her sweetly.

"Hi, I am Arizona." The woman smiles and said. Callie shook her hand and said, "I am Calliope. Um, do you need something?"

"Uh…" Arizona smiled at her sheepishly and asked Joe for help. Joe cleared his throat and said, "Um, what she means is that, um, you took her drink."

"What?"

"The shot of tequila you just had? It's mine, actually."

"Oh… Oh! Oh I am so sorry! I was having a bad day and I thought I got my drink so fast because Joe knew I was having a bad day and… Oh my god. I am sorry."

"It's fine, really." Arizona patted her shoulder gently and asked Joe, "Joe, um, could you give us another shot? Thanks."

"I am really sorry."

"Never mind. So Calliope, you live here in D.C.?"

"Uh, yeah! I moved here right after I finished law school."

"Oh, so you're a lawyer!" Arizona raise her brows in surprise.

"Yeah, but you know, we are in DC. So, it's really not that common for you to run into a lawyer at a random bar." Callie chuckled and said. "What about you? New to DC?"

"Mm. I landed this morning. I have been working in Geneva with the UN." Arizona took another sip of her drink and winked at Callie, "I am a lawyer too. International law."

"Wow. Impressive." Callie finished her drink and waved at Joe for a refill. She continued chatting with Arizona about their career while pouring shots after shots of tequila down their throat. Soon, Callie was too drunk to walk.

"Calliope? Calliope?" Arizona patted her shoulder and whispered her name.

"Um, Joe? I am sorry, but it seems like she is drunk. Do you...?"

"No, I don't know where she lives. She usually comes here with her friends, let me call them and see what they can do." Joe smiled at Arizona and went into the store room to call. Minutes later, he came back with a sorry face.

"I tried, but it seems like none of her friends are free. How about you let her crash with you tonight?"

"Me? Well, um... I guess I have to." Arizona sighed and dragged Callie onto the cab she just called.

"Okay... So I am gonna sleep on the couch tonight." Arizona settled Callie on the bed and exhaled deeply. She went into the bathroom and stripped herself for a shower. When she only have her panties left on her body, she felt another warm, naked body pressing against her out of where.

She looked into the mirror and saw Callie, who is completely naked, hugging her. She can feel Callie's warm breath falling on her neck and giving her shivers.

"Calliope?" She asked with slight tremors in her voice. Arizona knew she was a lesbian all the way, and she surely wouldn't mind a hot one night stand with a hot Latina before her first day of work. The problem is, Arizona Robbins is not the kind of person who would take advantages from a drunk, especially when she was not sure whether the drunk Latina is a lesbian or not.

"I want you..." Callie whispered in her ears, and started touching her body. Arizona tried to escape, but she couldn't.

"Um, Calliope, you are drunk..." She tried to push Callie away one more time, but her lips were sealed by Callie's and she couldn't resist anymore.

"Screw it." She thought. "It's not illegal anyway."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Then, you wake up this morning, discovered that you were naked in bed with legally blonde, who apparently had sex with you last night. You freaked out, putted on your clothes and ran away without leaving a note or something. Then you found out that you forgot to put your panties on when you arrived at the hotel lobby and there's no way you can get it back. So you pretended nothing has happened, came to work as usual and borrowed my spare underwear." Cristina lean against the sink and repeated the "adventure" of Callie while texting with her phone.

"Yes, and please don't use your attorney tone on me."

"Was it good? The sex?"

"Keep it down please Miss Yang. I don't intend on letting the whole office in on the details of my sexual encounter." Callie rolled her eyes in the stall. She walked out from the stall and rolled her eyes again at Cristina. "You are the one who got me into that situation at the beginning."

"What exactly did I do?"

"If you were home last night, Joe would have told the blonde my address and so she could take me home. And therefore I wouldn't end up like Meredith Grey! Screwing random strangers I met at the bar just because I am lonely and pathetic!"

"Objection. You are gonna screw blondie either way."

"No I won't!" Callie wiped her hands dry and reapplied her lipstick. She was ready to leave the bathroom but Cristina is still typing on her phone with a faint smile on her lips.

Callie peeked at her phone, but Cristina quickly switched off the screen when she know Callie is snooping. "Damn it! Nearly read that."

"May I remind you, peeking on others text messages is a violation of privacy."

"Who's that? Meredith? No, it's not Meredith cause you smiled as you type! Oooh, is that Major Hunt? He got back from Iraq already? Is that why you aren't home last night?"

"Callie," Cristina stopped and turned around facing Callie, "I like you, I really do. But mind your damn business."

"What! I am just caring for my friend."

"No, you're not! Snoopy."

"Okay seriously, were you with him last night?"

"I refuse to answer that."

"Come on! I told you my sex story! You should tell me something in return!"

"I didn't ask you to."

"Cristinaaaaaaa-"

"Shut up and get into the conference room. Catherine Avery want all of us be there at 9, to welcome the new international law attorney. We are already late, so be quiet and sit down." Cristina pushed Callie into the conference room and whispered. The two women sat down quietly at the back of the conference room. Catherine stared at them briefly and stood up

"Good morning, As I mentioned in the email earlier, we are here to welcome to a new member of our firm. International law attorney, Arizona Robbins." A blonde woman stood up and waved to everyone, with a charming smile on her face. As everyone clapped and welcome her, Callie pinched Cristina's thigh in order to swallow the scream that is about to escape her throat.

"Mm!" Cristina nearly screamed in pain, but thanks to her excellent self-control, she managed to turn the scream into a subtle moan.

"Calliope Iphegenia Torres! What is that all about!" Cristina texted Callie with a few angry emoji.

"It's her!"

"What her?"

"Legally Blonde! My one night stand! The new attorney!"

"What? You screwed Arizona Robbins before her first day?" Cristina gave Callie a meaningful glare before she return to staring at her phone screen.

"You don't think she followed me to work right? That is very, very stalkery." Callie typed nervously on the keyboard. Cristina almost laughed out loud at her friend's imagination, or delusion.

"First, Catherine Avery announced that a new attorney is gonna join the firm long before your little one-night stand thingy, so there's no way for her to follow you to work. And second, does it ever occurred to you, that… She might not interested in you?"

"Impossible! I am hot! I am extremely freaking hot. Everyone loves me."

"Ew." Cristina sent her a disgusted emoji. She looked up from her phone, trying to give Callie an eye-roll in real life, instead she saw Arizona Robbins approaching her friend. "Oh god heads up." She quickly sent a warning message to Callie, who shot her head up almost immediately and blushed uncontrollably at Arizona.

"Hi." Arizona stopped in front of Callie's office, knocked gently on the door and smiled sweetly.

"Um, uh, hi." Callie responded sheepishly.

 _'_ _This is probably the most awkward situation in human history.'_ Callie thought, _'What does she want from me? Please, don't bring yesterday up…'_

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah! Sure. Please, take a seat."

"I was raised by a navy man. My grandfather, my father and my brother, they all serve in the US Navy." Arizona started and interrupted Callie's thoughts. She nodded to show that she is listening while in fact, she has no idea where this conversation is heading.

"My point is, I was raised to be a good man in the storm. A person who will keeps her dignity and integrity even when no one's watching." Arizona paused for a while and continued, "I am sorry for what happened last night."

"Oh. That's… You don't need to apologize. It's nobody's fault."

"I need to. Because you were the drunk one and I was the lucid one. I should have better self-control than to take advantage from you. I am truly sorry for what we… what I did. And I hope you can put that behind us. I hope we can reestablish a professional relationship."

"Uh… okay."

"Thanks. It feels nice joining this firm. I really hope we will be able to work on a case together soon." Arizona smiled sweetly at Callie again and stood up, headed towards the door. Before she could grab the door handle, seems like she remembered something suddenly. She turned around and pulled out a small brown paper bag from the pocket of her clutch and put it on Callie's table.

"And… you left this in my room this morning."

Callie faked a smile as Arizona left her room. Once she is sure the blonde has returned to her own room, she carefully unfolded the bag and peeked inside. Yep, it's her black, laced panties. Callie stuffed the panties into her bag and pretended nothing has happened, while she is screaming hysterically inside.

* * *

"Dude, what's her problem?" Alex popped a peanut into his month and pointed at Callie with a disgusted expression. It was supposed to be a fun night out, while instead the three of them are forced to sit around a table quietly. He seriously regret coming to the bar tonight. It would a better use of time if he could stay in the hospital and save a few children.

"Leave her alone evil spawn. Her day sucks." Cristina sighed and pushed another bowl of peanuts towards Alex. He grabbed a few and stuffed them into his mouth.

"I thought you mentioned something about one night stand and inappropriate sex this morning?" Meredith asked while gesturing Joe for another tequila shot.

"Oh! Right." Cristina put down her glass of Vodka tonic and cleared her throat before telling the story. "Callie had a one night stand with a blonde last night. But she was drunk at that time so she didn't realize something was happening. This morning when she woke up naked beside that woman, she got panicked and escaped from that room, completely forgetting about her panties."

"Oh that is so Mer."

"I thought so too!" Alex gave Cristina a high-five and Meredith snapped at the both of them, "That is so NOT Meredith Grey. Ok, back to the issue."

"Erm, remember last week when I told you that Catherine Avery is hiring a new attorney? Turns out the blonde Callie screwed last night is the new attorney at our firm." Cristina smirked at her friends, "But that is not the point. The point is, Callie thought that woman is coming after her, trying to cask her out or continue with what happened last night, something like that. While that woman had absolutely no interest in her."

"That is a sad twist." Meredith shook her head and said. She looked at Callie like she is a pathetic stray dog by the road.

"Enough!" Finally, Callie can no longer pretend to be deaf. She turned around facing her friends and yelled, "This is the biggest humiliation in my life. Don't ever bring it up again or I will strangle all of you."

After her powerful threat, she collapsed on the table and groaned, "I got rejected by my one night stand BEFORE I have a chance to tell her I am not interested! I feel shame looking at myself. What am I supposed to do? I can't work with her! Maybe I should get a new job? Cristina, do you think Burke can find me a job at the department of Justice?"

Cristina almost choked by the drink she just poured into her mouth, "How… how would I know? I barely know him." Meredith stared at her friend's eyes with her "know-it-all" glare, which made Cristina startled a bit although she didn't show any change in emotions. She gently kicked Meredith's calf as a warning, Meredith smiled at her meaningfully and finally looked away.

"I thought he was you mentor when you first started in Avery & Grey's?" Apparently, Callie is too drunk to notice to secret exchange of glance by her two roommates.

"Well, yes. But it's a long time ago. And I didn't keep in touch with him anymore."

"Mm… Maybe I could get a job in law school then? Last time I heard that they needed someone to teach family law in Georgetown Law…"

"Dude, trust me, there's no need for you to get a new job. Who says you can't work with your one night stand?" Alex snorted and ordered another beer.

"He's right. He screw nurses whenever he's got time, and things didn't get ugly when he move on to the next one."

"The point is, do not let them think that you care. Show them you've move on and you don't give a crap. That way, you are the winner."

"You know, I used to think that you are an imbecile. Guess I was wrong." Cristina smiled at Alex with appraisal. He whispered something to curse her in return.

"Alright then!" Callie yelled suddenly, and the whole bar turned their head to look at her. Her friends quickly apologize to everyone and pressed Callie back onto the stool.

"I have decided. I am going to show her that I don't give a crap abut that night. And make her feel attracted to me, Callie Torres." Callie laughed and dropped her head onto the table. Meredith pushed her slightly but she didn't react.

"She is drunk." Dr. Grey announced.

"At least she is not going to make out with another blonde tonight." Cristina smirked and got a high five from Alex. The gang passed the money to Joe and carefully bring Callie into a cab.

What they don't know is, in the corner of the bar, Arizona was sitting there alone. She turned her body around to face the bar table as the gang leaves the bar. She finished her drink with an amused smile on her lips, paid the bill and walked out the bar.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Just wanna say a quick thank you to all those who have been waiting for me to update. I was having a really busy time lately: I was settling down at a new workplace, and as I am about to graduate I've got TONS to prepare. But trust me, I have the whole story planned out in my head already, and I am not going to abandon this story :P Sorry for the short Calzona story, I just can't remember what I wanted to write at first after such a long time… Anyway, next chapter will be the story of a new couple, tell me which couple you would like to see!

* * *

Chapter 3

"Cristina… My head hurts…" Callie whined as Cristina put down a cup of coffee and two pills on her desk.

"You kind of deserved it."

"Cristina Yang! You are supposed to be my friend! And friends don't call each other 'deserved it' when they are having a serious hangover!"

"But you deserve it. You know very clearly that you are not on the best term with alcohol." Cristina snorted and threw away the foil wrapping for Callie. "If you can't take the consequence, don't do it."

"You should have stopped me last night!"

"You are twice my size."

"I hate you! Just get out of my office!" Callie snapped angrily, "I need some silence before I meet with my new clients."

"What new client?"

"Nothing interesting, just some overseas adoption problem."

"You're right. It's boring."

A knock on the door disturbed Callie and Cristina's conversation. The receptionist, Penny, peeked into the room and announced.

"Ms. Torres, your client are waiting for you in the conference room."

"Thanks. I will be there in a minute." Callie flashed Penny her signature smile. The blonde smiled and winked back before heading out.

"Whoa. What's that about?" Sensing the unusual atmosphere between the two of them, Cristina asked curiously.

"Nothing!" Callie tried to pretend nothing happened, but Cristina see right through her poor acting. "She is a lesbian."

"And the point is…?"

"I am bringing her coffee. Maybe flirt a little as well."

"Since when you are interested in her?"

"I am not interested to her! Did you hear me last night? I said I am going to pretend that I don't care about Arizona at all, and I am going to flirt A LOT in front of her. So she would notice how attracting I am and how unfortunate she decided not to ask me out. Then after she got all hung up on me, I am gonna tell her 'I am not interested'."

"Wow." Cristina looked at Callie in astonishment, "You are serious!"

"Of course I am! What, you think I am just drunk talking?"

"Well… Yeah!"

"You are really my best friend."

"Can we rewind a little bit? When you say you are going to 'pretend', does it means you actually cares about Arizona Robbins a lot?"

"Shut up Yang."

"Hi! I am Calliope Torres, the family law attorney of Avery& Greys." Callie walked into the conference room and shook hands with the couple.

"Okay, um, so, I heard that there are some problems with your adoption in Vietnam?"

"That's right. We are trying to adapt a baby girl from Vietnam, but we got pregnant while we are under observation for the adoption. After they knew about our pregnancy, they turned down our application without any notice! At first they refuse to tell us the reason, but we begged our adoption agency, finally they told us it's because we have our own baby girl now!" The wife wiped her tears and carried on, "Even we have our own baby, it doesn't mean we can't be the parents of another baby girl!"

"Uh huh… I see. Erm… It gets a little tricky as the case is happened outside the States… I think I would have to ask our international law attorney to join us." Callie flipped through the file and said.

 _'_ _Oh shit.'_ The word international law attorney hit her suddenly. Her finally-sober brain operates quickly, _'I have to talk to Arizona! Okay. Calliope Torres. Be calm. Don't be a coward. You just need to be professional, smile, ask her to come here, and the whole thing will be over in a few minutes.'_

* * *

"Robbins?... Um… Am I interrupting or something?" Callie knocked on the door with a fake genuine smile on. Her smile froze right away when she opened the door.

"Hey Calliope! No we are just… chatting. You need me for something?" Arizona was laughing with April, Jackson Avery's chirpy assistant. What is happening between them? Jackson used to be the only one who like being around Kepner… Oh… Maybe Arizona Robbins has a thing for red heads?

"Calliope?" Arizona said in a confused voice and bring Callie back to the reality. She looked around the room and found out that April is now nowhere to be seen.

"Mm? Oh right…" Callie cursed her stupidity silently and closed the door. "I've just received a case… some problem with international adoption. And uh, I think I need some help from you."

"Of course. Just let me finish this two sentence." Arizona smiled sweetly and continue focusing on her laptop, while Callie looked around in her office, and finally locking her gaze on the blonde.

She couldn't help but noticed how Arizona bite her lip when she try to figure out what to type, and how she push her hair to the back of her ear occasionally. She can't really tell why she couldn't look away, but she has a strong feeling, she want this woman to like, no, to love her.

She want Arizona Robbins to love her, Calliope Torres.

"Okay. Let's go." Arizona exhaled deeply as she finished typing. She closed her laptop and reached the door. "Callie?"

"I like you." Callie whispered.

"Huh? I am sorry?"

"I said, I like you… No, I love you, at least I think I do." Callie took a deep breath and looked straight into Arizona's eyes. "I know it sound ridiculous for me to say love, after all we only knew each other for like, two days. But I believe in fate, and soulmate. I feel… different for you. I want to be with you. And you?"

Arizona blinked blankly as she tried to digest what she just heard. She looked at the slightly anxious brunette. Although Callie tried to act like she doesn't really care about what Arizona is going to say, the way she squeeze her skirt tightly exposed how nervous she was. She is ready to rush through that door and hand in her resign letter if she got rejected.

"I like you too, Calliope. But I just don't date co-workers." Arizona grabbed Callie's hand and help her smooth her skirt. Callie's smile froze on her face. She struggled to get away from Arizona's grip and headed out, but Arizona is so much stronger than her.

"I have rules for myself, like I don't sleep with drunk strangers from bars." Arizona chuckled as she recalled the night they met, "But since I've already broken one rule last week, I might as well broke another one."

Callie stared at Arizona's face blankly and tried to process what she meant. Before she can react, Arizona pulled her out of the room to the middle of the office and, without any warning, kissed her.

All of their colleagues are shocked and couldn't close their mouth. But who cares? Nothing is more important than the person kissing her now.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 (MerDer)

 **Meredith Grey: 37, Pediatric Surgeon at National Children's Medical Centre**

 **Derek Shepherd: 40, CEO of a medical technology company**

Ask any doctor in USA who Dr. Meredith Grey is, most of them would tell you the same answer: she is one of the best pediatric surgeons in the US, well, probably one of the best in the world. Unlike most pediatric surgeons, Dr. Grey never sees kids as miniature of adults. Instead, she treats every kid as an individual, and always put the need of the child before the need of their parent. This can probably explain why she is the most popular doctor among kids, and why parents love to go to her whenever their kids got sick…

"This is a full load of crap." Alex snorted and slapped the magazine he was holding onto the coffee table. "Every pediatrician treats kids like they are an individual, because they freaking are! Why am I not being chosen as the 'best pediatrician'?"

"Have you ever looked into the mirror?" Lexie Grey laughed and picked up the magazine. She flipped to the cover and saw the picture of her sister next to the heading "Meredith Grey: The Angel of Children".

"Okay, now I agree this is a bit too much. 'Angel'? Really?" Lexie laughed so hard that there is tears running down her cheeks. A slender hand appeared behind her and snapped the magazine from her. Lexie turned around and saw her sister staring at her in a quite… unhappy face.

"You two are just jealous," Meredith announced and flipped to her interview. "See? The two of you can never truly appreciate people better than you. That's why you were not chosen as the best pediatrician."

"Whatever." Alex rolled his eyes so hard that it hurts, he blinked a few times and saw Meredith heading out of the lounge. "Mer, where are you going?"

"I am going to save children because I am an awesome surgeon," Meredith paused and added, "And the angel of children."

* * *

Check the notebook in her pocket, Meredith headed directly to the NICU to check on the premie she delivered yesterday. On her way to NICU, she saw a little girl sitting on the sofa in the lobby alone. The dark-skinned little girl is wearing a set of SpongeBob pajamas and her tiny curls was being tied into two strange looking pigtails. _'This must be a patient from Paeds… How come I've never saw her before?'_ Meredith thought in her mind.

The little girl was also holding a teddy bear in her arms while looking around anxiously, probably waiting for her parents. Meredith shrugged and was about to head to NICU as she was supposed to. But suddenly, the little girl began to cough vigorously. Meredith thought for a second, and decided to send this girl back to her room first.

"Hello. I am Meredith, who are you?" Meredith approached the little girl and asked.

"I am Zola."

"Zola, what are you doing here? You should be in your room now." Meredith sat down beside her and asked. Zola didn't answer her, she just bit her lip and held her teddy bear tighter.

"Mm… Are you waiting for your parents?" Meredith asked gently. Zola looked at her, nodded, and shook her head.

"Are you… Dr. Grey?" Zola whispered and looked at Meredith's badge, but she probably couldn't read very well, as she struggled to find the word "Grey".

"Yes, I am. See here? Meredith Grey." Meredith pointed at her name and read. Zola suddenly grabbed her arm and yelled, "I am waiting for you!"

"Me? Why?" Meredith said amused.

"Because you are the angel of children! I want you to help find my mommy!"

Meredith smiled and cursed the reporters for that crappy heading silently. She looked at her watch and said with a sorry face, "Zola… I am sorry, but I still have some work to do. How about I ask the nurses to help you find your mommy?"

"No! Only you can help me find my mommy!"

Meredith looked at Zola's face and sighed, "Alright, But first, I have to finish my work. Can you wait for me in your room? Okay, follow me. But promise me to be quiet and don't touch anything, okay?"

Zola nodded happily and followed Meredith.

* * *

It was already 3 hours later after Meredith finished checking on most of her patients. At first, she worried that Zola will be exhausted, but this little girl seems to be very interested in medical stuff and was not even a bit bored.

"Okay, now let's go back to your room and have lunch first before we go to look for mommy, alright?" Meredith said to Zola as she searches for her room number on her iPad.

"Room 206… here it is." Meredith opened the door and saw two men standing in the room, pacing anxiously making phone calls.

"Daddy!" Zola yelled and hugged the man with wonderful hair.

"Where have you been! Mark and I were searching for you everywhere! We almost have to call the police!" The man said in a relieved tone. The man beside him with salt and pepper hair ended the call and exhaled in relief as well. He rubbed the little girl's hair gently and said, "See? I told you Zola is the smartest little girl in the world. She won't get lost easily am I right?"

Meredith stood by the door, not sure whether she should go or stay and talk to the couple, maybe give them a lecture on how to look after your toddler as well… But she couldn't really find a space to interrupt the happy family. Just as she decided to go, Zola yelled her name, "Meredith! Don't go!"

Meredith stopped and turned around awkwardly. The two men stood up and introduced themselves.

"Hi! You must be the doctor that brings Zola back to her room! Thank you, really… By the way, I am Derek Shepherd, Zola's father." The man with the dreamy hairstyle said with a dreamier smile.

"And I am Mark, Mark Sloan. Nice to meet you, um… Dr. Grey." Another man said while giving Meredith a wink. "I think I know a Dr. Grey too, interesting right?"

"Well, Grey is not really an uncommon last name right?" Meredith replied coldly. Apparently, she has no interest in flirting with a gay.

"Daddy! Meredith is an angel! She can help us find mama!" Zola said excitedly, not noticing the sorrow in her daddy's eyes when she say the word "mama". Mark coughed unnaturally, and said to Meredith,

"Dr. Grey, do you mind talking with me about Zola's situation for a second? Privately?"

Although Meredith is not sure about his intention, she still nodded and step outside with Mark.

"So… Did Zola told you anything about her mommy?"

"No, she just said she want me to help her find her mother." Meredith replied. Noticing the Mark's strange face, she quickly added, "Well I've seen tons of cases like Zola's before. Probably because of the influence of media, many kids from homosexual families would wonder where their father or mother were. But with proper explanation, she will slowly understand why her family is different, and there is no shame at all…"

"Whoa. Wait." Mark interrupted her with a terrified look on his face, "You… you don't… you think Derek and I, we, are a… couple?"

"You… are not…?"

"Hell no!" Mark almost screamed as he denied. "What in God's name makes you think we are a couple!"

"Well, you just… feel like one… I am sorry."

"It's… fine. Never mind. What I wanted to say is, please, help us keep a secret." He sighed and said with a more serious face.

"Alright…"

"About Zola's mother… You are not going to be able to find her."

"Did she… died?"

"No. Well, I guess you know that already, Zola is Derek's adopted daughter. He adopted Zola when she was still an infant with his wife, Addison. But after a few months, Addison suddenly filed for a divorce with Derek and moved to LA. She said she wasn't aware that she is not ready to be a mom when they apply for the adoption. Since that day, Derek has become a single father." Mark sighed again when he recalled the ugly divorce between his two best friends. "Derek and I own a company together, so from time to time, I help him taking care of Zola."

"Mm… I see… But why are you telling me this?" Meredith asked confused.

"Zola saw your interview on the magazine somewhere, and she believed that you are really an angel that can make children's wish come true. She wanted you to help her find her mother but, as I told you before, it is impossible. But Derek and I, we are not planning to tell her the truth just yet. So I would like you to help us keep this as a secret."

Meredith smiled and nodded, "Don't worry. I will never let her know."

"Thank you." Mark grinned at her as well, "Just one more thing… do you know some other Dr. Grey?"

"I know a few Dr. Greys, actually. Do you know the first name?"

"Nah… I can't remember it… Never mind. Thank you for your help, Dr. Grey." Mark smiled and went back into the room. As she leaves for the NICU, Meredith couldn't help but looked at Derek Shepherd again.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"No… I am not going to your stupid 'meetings' anymore." Meredith shouted into her phone while typing her patients' charts. "Every time you promised to introduce me with the best man you ever know… Look how it turns out every time! I am not trusting you anymore!"

"What! They are really great guys! Remember Finn?"

"The married vet?"

"Um, what about Nathan?"

"Let's see, oh right! The guy that cheats on his girlfriend!"

"…Alright I am sorry… But this time I am introducing you with one of my best friends. He is really dreamy, if I were straight I would definitely date him." Callie giggled and said. "Come on, I promise this would be the last time."

Meredith paused for a second and her mind wanders off. Dreamy… Strangely, Derek Shepherd's face pops up in her head once she heard the word dreamy. A smile appears on her face without her noticing.

"Mer? Are you still there!" Callie yelled on the other side of the phone.

"Um? Yes I am listening… Fine, I will give you one last chance. Eight O'Clock at Joe's right?"

"Yes. You won't be disappointed! Oh, gotta go, see you!"

Meredith put down her phone and sighed slightly. The only thing she has learnt in the last 20 years of her life is to never keep your hopes up when it comes to dating. Cause every decent guy she met turns out to be dick heads.

Last time, when she believes that everything is going great between her and the charming vet, Finn, she asked him out to dinner. She even dressed in her best lingerie to prepare herself for lots and lots of hot sex that night. Anyway, right before she invites him to spend a night at her place, his VERY pregnant wife pops up called her a homewrecker. In front of almost a hundred people. In a Michelin 3 stars restaurant. Clearly, she withdrew her invitation and went home directly in her carefully picked lingerie, and spend the rest of the night whining to Cristina how crappy men were.

And you thought that is already the most humiliating thing that could ever happen to a person? No, it really isn't.

The time before that, Callie set her up with a dentist, Nathan Riggs. Again, things were going really well between them and Nathan brought her home one night. They kissed passionately in the dark hallway, struggled to get inside his apartment in between the kisses and stripped each other without hesitation like two horny high school kids. Then she flickered on the lights, and found another naked woman lying on the bed with rose petals all around her body. Therefore, again in her sexy lingerie, Meredith went to Alex's flat and whined about her crappy love life.

Meredith sighed again, and peeked at the clock. It's almost time now. _'Well, it's just dinner.'_ She thought to herself, _'It's not like I am stuck with that guy forever. Just stay calm, and don't keep your hopes up Meredith.'_

She felt so much better and so much more confident after emotionally encouraging herself. She went back to the attending's lounge, put on the strappy black sandals she borrowed from Lexie and put on her favourite red lipstick. She smiled to herself in the mirror, and left confidently. On her way to the parking lot, she ran into Zola again.

"Hi Mer! Where are you going? Oooh I know! Are you going on a date?"

"Hey Zola… Well, I suppose you can say that." She smiled at the girl and patted her head gently.

"Good luck!" The little girl said, trying to sound adult.

"Thank you! Alright, time to go back to your room. I will see you the next morning, okay?"

"Ok." Zola grinned and watches Meredith head towards her car. "Daddy's having a date too. Isn't that weird?"

* * *

"Hey Mer! Over here!" As soon as Meredith stepped into the restaurant, she heard Callie shouting her name and waving vigorously like an idiot. She quickly walked towards their table to try and shut her up, but all her plans vanished once she saw the guy Callie set her up with.

It's Derek Shepherd. The dreamy hair guy with an even dreamier smile.

She sat down beside Callie and smiled awkwardly at Derek, who gave her another dreamy smile in return.

"Okay, so Meredith, this is Derek. He is one of my closest friends, I think I know him since high school." Callie giggled and introduced Derek to Meredith. Apparently, she didn't notice the awkward smile on Meredith's face. "And Derek, this is Meredith, one of the best pediatric surgeons in the world. She is my college flatmate."

"Actually, we have met before. Good to see you outside of the hospital, Dr. Grey." Derek cleared his throat and said.

"What? Really?" Callie looked at Meredith with a puzzled look on her face and Meredith gave her a nod as an answer. "You two met at the hospital? When did that happened! No wait. Why would you be at a children's hospital? Is there something wrong with Zola?"

"I think Zola caught a cold when she followed me to Seattle for a business trip last time. I tried to take care of her but she seems to be getting worse. Mark said it could be pneumonia, and I better bring her to a hospital as soon as possible. And that's why I met Dr. Grey."

"Is she fine Mer?"

"Uh, yes. Bringing her in is a good call." Meredith smiled and said.

"So when will she be able to go home? I miss my baby Zozo."

"Oh, I think she is going to be discharged in a few… Oops, sorry. I have to get this." Meredith stood up from her chair and smiled apologetically to Callie and Derek. She quickly walked outside the bar and answered her call, "Hey Lex."

"Meredith. I… I have something really important to tell you. You really need to come right now."

"What is that? You got married in Vegas accidentally again?"

"No. It's your patient, Zola. You asked me to check on her tonight, so I went to her room a while ago and she was having a fever. I gave her something but the fever just won't go down. So, um, I did a blood work and her white blood cells count is sky high. I ran a few more tests, and I think she has…"

"Acute lymphoblastic leukemia." Meredith continued for her sister quietly. She closes her eyes, breath in and out slowly and quietly, trying to figure out what to say. Zola's face appears in her mind with a big smile. Why do bad things keep happening to this sweet little girl? And to make things worse, what the hell should she tell Derek? He is the father and HAS every right to know about his little girl's medical condition.

 _'_ _No, it is still not sure whether it is leukemia or not.'_ Meredith bit her lips and thought. _'Maybe I should tell him after Zola is actually diagnosed.'_

"Hello? Mer? Are you still there?"

"Yes. Um, Lexie, go do a spinal tap right now. I will be back in… half an hour. Then we will decide what to do." Meredith said calmly and hung up. She took another deepbreathe before going into the bar again.

* * *

After Meredith is gone, Callie smiled at Derek meaningfully and asked, "So… Do you like her?"

"I think she is a wonderful woman." Derek replied. Honestly, he likes Meredith. She is nothing like the women he used to date. He would definitely like to go out with her, it just… He is not sure whether he is ready for a new relationship or not. The thing with Addison has hurted him so deeply and so badly that he feels like he can never trust or love somebody again.

Derek stares at Meredith's empty glass and emptied his glass of scotch. Maybe all he needs to do is to try to fall in love again.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next day, Meredith tried her best to avoid Zola's room. The lab is still working on the sample they sent in last night, and she don't trust herself to be able to not tell the Shepherds her guess.

So, she nearly jumped when Derek Shepherd called her name. She adjusted her face before turning around, "Hey! Good morning!"

"Good morning. I brought you a coffee."

"Wow. Thanks. That's very... kind of you." She smiled and sipped the drink.

"You know, Zola and I, um, we thought we are going to see you this morning." Derek said carefully, fear that he is pushing to hard and frightens her.

"Uh... I... I was busy with another kid this morning. Right."

"What I mean is, um, I like you." Having saw the look on her face, Derek quickly added, "I would very much like to ask you out again. Before you reject me with your crazy schedule, I just wanna tell you that we don't need to meet for a romantic candle light dinner every day. Instead I am going to give you one letter every day."

Meredith took the letter from Derek and looked at him with a puzzled look. He flashed her his dreamy smile and continued, "I am gonna tell you one little fact about myself each day. You can reply if you like to, and I absolutely wish you would. But if it bothers you, just tell me and I will get out of your life." He leans forward and gently landed a kiss on her cheek. Slowly, Meredith placed her hand over the spot his lips just landed, and felt like that part of her skin is on fire. She can imagine how red her face must be right now.

She rip the envelope open and pulled out the piece of paper inside.

 _"Dear Meredith,"_ It reads, _"This is the first fact about myself, so I decided to tell you something related to my family first. I am from Connecticut, and I have four sisters. Nancy, Kathleen and Lizzy are older than me, and Amelia..."_

"What are you reading?" Lexie pops up from behind Meredith out of nowhere and gave her a scare.

"Ah! Lexie! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"I am sorry! But Zola's labs are out. I thought you would want to take a look."

Meredith took the tablet over and scroll down the page quickly. "Damn it." She set down the tablet on the counter and massages her head. It is still a very early stage of leukemia and, leukemia in kids is often curable. She has got a thousand treatment plans running through her head but none of those seems good enough.

She closed her eyes and hoping that when she opens them again, the lab results she just read would became normal...

"I ran it twice already." Lexie whispered. She knows what her sister's thinking. And obviously, no one would want to see a kid suffer, but when something bad turns out to be real, there's nothing else we could do except to fight like hell. At least that's what Lexie thought.

"Alright. So next step, we are going to talk to Der... Mr. Shepherd."

* * *

After a few gentle knocks, Meredith and Lexie pushed the door open. Derek turned his body around to face them, and when he saw Meredith, he gave her a warm smile. The prepared speech in Meredith's head suddenly disappeared. All she can feel is guilt: How the hell can she tell the man in front of her that his only daughter is very sick?

"Uh, where's Zola?"

"She went to the play room to find her friend, um, Sofia I think."

"Oh, that's great. Uh, I, um, I have something I needed to talk to you about." The smile on Derek's face fades. Whatever Meredith is going to tell him, it won't be good.

"It's about Zola."

"I thought she had Pneumonia."

"She... was. She was. Until we discovered her white cells count elevated a lot in a routine blood check. Then we have ran a few more tests, and we are sure that Zola has got leukemia." Meredith bit her lips and looked at Derek cautiously, fear that he may faint at any second.

Derek grasped the desk beside him firmly, trying to maintain his balance. A huge wave of pain strike him and propagated from the middle of his heart, it spreads to every inch of his limbs and he almost lost the ability to stand up straight. He can't believe it. He can't believe any of it. Just when he started to try and be happy again, life gave him a huge punch in the face. What is wrong with this world? Nothing is right about this.

Meredith walked to his side and gently stroked his back. "I know it is hard. And I know it must be difficult for you to accept this fact. I am not going to sugarcoat this for you: because that's not what you want. That's not gonna solve the problem. What we need to do is to face it. We need to move fast. Zola's condition is still at a very early stage, which means with strong chemotherapy, we are looking at a very good chance of recovery."

Noticing Derek is still not looking at her face, Meredith grabbed his hand in hers tightly and said, "You have to face it. Not for yourself, not for me, but for Zola. She is going to need her daddy to get through this."

"What are we going to do next?"

"We are going to start Zola on chemo right away. Also, since she was adapted overseas, we are going to find bone marrow donors in the national data bank. It may take weeks before we can find someone suitable." Meredith smiled and squeezed Derek's hand. "And I want you to meet someone. This is my sister, Dr. Lexie Grey. She is a specialist in treating cancer children. She will be joining me on Zola's case and be in charge of finding a suitable donor."

Lexie shook Derek's hand with a huge smile on her face. "Hi, I am Dr. Alexandra Grey. But everyone calls me Lexie. Don't worry, children recover really fast. She will survive and return to a healthy little girl again very soon."

"Lexie Grey?" Just when Derek wanted to ask some more about bone marrow transplant, Mark's voice appears by the door. All three of them turned around and saw Mark standing there with a… complicated expression. His is frowning with his jaw opened, not sure whether he is surprised or in shock.

Standing next to Meredith, Lexie inhaled deeply and frowned as well, she whispered, "Oh shit."

* * *

A/N: Yay! Finally some Slexie! Any Slexie lovers out there? I guess now it's obvious which couple's story will come after MerDer... As always, please R&R! Oh! And a huge thank you to those who have been waiting for me to update for ages!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Hey... What's that all about?" When Cristina and Callie walked into Meredith's house, this is what the saw:

First, Lexie Grey lying on the sofa with a vodka bottle in her hands and snoring loudly, apparently drunk. Second, Meredith Grey sitting on the floor stuffing popcorns into her mouth and keep washing them down by Tequila. She stares blankly at the TV and doesn't care about the mess she caused when she stuck her hand into that popcorn bowl. Third, Alex Karev, who by the way, appears to be the only sober person in the house, is sitting on a chair about a foot away from the two women, drinking beer and watching them like they are characters from some soap drama.

"They are out of their mind," Alex answered.

"Well, I can see that. What happened to her?" Cristina rolled her eyes and responded annoyed.

"Um, big Grey's patient, aka her new romantic interest's daughter, is responding well to chemo. But the thing is, the next step should be bone marrow transplant. But since the girl is adapted, it is gonna take months to find a match." Alex explained, "As for little Grey, her husband, or something like that, is not leaving her alone. Especially after he heard about Hannah."

"The one she drunkenly married in Vegas? What are the odds!" Callie couldn't help herself but laugh at the situation. "Okay, I can't help Mer with anything, but if Lexie needs help, she can always come to me."

"If I can't cure Zola," Meredith suddenly raised a question. All of her friends turned to look at her and wait for the second part of it, "Should I kill myself to show how sorry I am?"

"No. But you are probably done with McDreamy." Callie answered helpfully.

"Ugh!" Meredith slammed a cushion over her face and growled. "What the hell am I supposed to do! Am I supposed to just let a girl die or live in a bubble forever because we crushed her immune system and got no healthy bone marrow to put into her body? I am a freaking surgeon but now I am useless. Does any of you knows how that feels?"

"Alex must know all of that, cause he is a loser." Cristina quickly answered. Alex gave her a finger and cursed, "Bitch."

"Alright let's look at the positive side of things." Callie interrupted and took the cushion away from Meredith's hands. "You never know what is going to happen the next second. Maybe if we keep our hopes up and just… hope for the best, miracles can happen and they can find a donor!"

She pulled Meredith, Cristina and Alex over and made the three of them stare at Meredith's phone with her. "Don't blink, it can ring at any second."

The four of them stared at the phone quietly, they held their breath and waited. No one dares to make any noise, the only sound they could hear is the tick-tock of the clock on the wall and Lexie's snore.

One.

Two.

Three.

Forty-six.

"Okay, this is a load of crap." Finally, Alex couldn't stand it and got himself up from the floor. "Wake up. UNOS isn't going to call just because we are staring at a stupid phone all night and hope. That is not how the world works…"

And he was interrupted by the ringing of Meredith's phone. Everyone froze at their position for a second before Meredith can finally react. Quickly, she swiped her phone from the ground and answered with a sober voice.

"Hello. Dr. Meredith Grey speaking."

"Yes."

"Oh. Thank you very much."

"Yes, of course. Thank you. Goodbye."

After ending the call, Meredith sat back down on the floor and massaged her forehead.

"What did they say? Is there a match? Are they telling you when they are picking it up?" Callie shot a few questions at once anxiously. Meredith looked at her friends and sighed, "No. It wasn't UNOS. Just the editor from a medical journal calling to tell me that they are going to publish one of my piece in their next issue."

They looked at Meredith with pity in their eyes. It must be so hard keeping hopes up when hope is nowhere to be seen. Cristina gently patted Meredith's hand, trying to make her feel better. Instead of reaching for another bottle of tequila, Meredith stood up from the floor and went straight to the door.

"Hey! Where are you going!" Callie shouted behind her.

"I am not going to just sit here and wait. I am going to the hospital."

"So you are going to be just… sitting by the phone and wait at the hospital? What's the difference?" Callie asked her friends strangely, while Cristina and Alex gave her a look. "What?"

"Actually how stupid are you? The major difference between here and the hospital is that Derek Shepherd is there!" Cristina responded with her usual sarcastic tone. "Don't ever tell people that you are my friend. You are dumbing us down."

"Yeah, me too." Alex chimed in and took another gulp of the beer.

* * *

Meredith peeked into Zola's room and saw Derek sitting on the sofa by the window, watching his daughter sleep. He's got beard growing around his jawline, and judging by the messiness of his hair and the look on his face, he probably didn't sleep in two days.

She opened the door and tip-toed into the room, closing the door behind her. Quietly, she walked to Derek's side and sat down beside him. He looked at her, gave her a weak, sad smile and turned to look at Zola again.

Meredith juggled the words inside her head carefully. There are so many things she wanted to say to the man, to cheer him up, to relax him, to comfort him… She tried to figure out what to say first would be appropriate, but the first sentence came out of her mouth was definitely the least appropriate.

"You haven't been writing to me lately."

Once she said that she wished she could bite her tongue off. _'Stupid! Stupid stupid stupid! What are you thinking Meredith Grey! He is sitting next to his very sick daughter and as her doctor, all you can think of is this? Oh god.'_

Instead of getting angry, Derek actually chuckled. "I am sorry. I promised to write you a letter every day and I didn't follow through. It's just… with all the things going on with Zola, and the thing between Mark and your sister… I don't have much time to write."

"No! Don't apologize. It's nothing. Really. I wasn't thinking before I speak. I am sorry." Meredith blushed and lowered her head. What's wrong with her? A girl's life is in danger right now and all she can think of is flirting with her father? What kind of doctor is she?

The two of them sit next to each other, quietly waiting for the other to speak. The room is awkwardly quiet and the only sound that could be heard is the beeping of the cardiac monitor.

"Well, urm, do you want to sleep? I can watch Zola for you." Meredith suggested, but Derek just shook his head and continued staring at nothing.

"Okay, you don't need to talk. I will do all the talking." Meredith cleared her throat and said, "My name is Meredith Elizabeth Grey, my middle name is the same as my mother's, but we don't have the easiest mother-daughter relationship so I don't really like this name. My parents got divorced when I was six, I was supposed to live with my mother, but she is really busy with work so most of the time I stay with my father and my step-mother, Susan. Susan is practically my mother, she treats me the same way as she treats my two sisters, Lexie and Molly. I am not very close with Molly, probably because of the age difference, but I am really close with Lexie.

My mother wanted me to be a lawyer and follow her footsteps. So I planned to go to law school initially. Then I met Callie and Cristina at college and I realized I am not cut out to be a lawyer like them. We are dorm mates since the first year. I bonded with Cristina instantly, but it took us some time to warm up to Callie. Callie was happy and bubbly, unlike Cristina and I. Oh, and Cristina and I called ourselves the 'Twisted Sisters'."

Derek smiled as he listens to Meredith's life story. Meredith peeks at his face and carried on satisfyingly.

"After I graduated from college, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I worked at a café for two years, paying for my rent and those kinds of things. I can still vividly recall what makes me wanted to be a doctor at the first place, even 10 years has gone. It was a little girl. About 10 years old, I think. She came to the café with her mother one afternoon and ordered a vanilla scone. A while later, she suddenly turned red, there's some kind of a rash all over her body. She couldn't breathe or talk, all she can do is clutching at her throat and look at me terrified. No one in the restaurant knew what to do. We called the ambulance, but none of us can be sure when it will arrive. At that time, a guy came in and saw us all gathering around the girl. Turns out he was a doctor. He identified immediately that the girl was having a serious allergic reaction. He flipped through his supplies and quickly gave her a shot of adrenaline. Then, like magic, the girl can breathe again. That is why I wanted to be a doctor, to fight with Death."

She looked at Derek and grabbed his hand, "This is what I do, saving people from death. So trust me when I tell you that Zola will be fine. Because I will fight like hell to save her."

Derek looked up at her determined face and suddenly feel an urge to kiss her. Slowly, he leaned forward and caught her lips with his. They kissed each other calmly, gently allow their lips to stay together. A while later, when both of them are seriously in need of oxygen, they released each other and gasped.

"Ready for more?" He asked with her favourite McDreamy smile.

Meredith can feel her face blushing, her cheeks are so hot that she can almost feel steam coming out from her face. But still, she nodded and wait for him to get closer again…

Then her phone rang. Meredith stared at her phone with a missed feeling of pity and anger, and she reached for it.

"Dr. Meredith Grey."

After a brief conversation, she hung up the phone and tossed it onto the coffee table in front of her. She looked at Derek with tears of joy in her eyes and she announced the big news.

"They have found a match for Zola in LA. The donor will catch the first plane in the morning to come to DC."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Lexie!" Lexie Grey literally spat the coffee in her mouth back into the cup when she heard her sister yelling her name across the hall. She coughed and wiped her mouth with her sleeve as she turned around.

"Ye…Yes?"

"Has the donors arrived yet?"

"No. They plane got delayed. I just received a call from them saying that they just landed."

"Alright. Good. What about Zola? Is she prepped? I want to make sure everything is fine and just the way we planned."

"Yeah. I talked to her half an hour ago, she understands perfectly what we are going to do, and she really looks forward to leaving the hospital."

"Okay. Okay… That's good…"

"Hey. Calm down." Lexie snuggled her sister with a devilish grin on her face, "Don't act like a worried parent, or I am gonna kick you off this floor."

"I am not!" Meredith frowned and denied, but after being stared by Lexie's "I know everything" glare, she sighed and admitted, "Okay, fine. So I am worried. Is there any problem for me to be worried about my patient?"

"I am just trying to make you face your actual feelings." Lexie shrugged and paused as she noticed the elevator door opening and a woman walks out from it with a little boy.

"Oh! Here they come. Hi! Are you Miss Montgomery? I am Dr. Lexie Grey, the coordinator of transplants surgeries in National Children's Medical Centre." Lexie says, "And you must be Henry!"

"I am Addison Montgomery, nice to meet you, Dr. Grey." The woman smiled and shook hands with Lexie, "Actually, I am a doctor too, so."

"Oh! Really? Then I guess it could save some time that I don't have to explain the whole procedure word by word to you!"

"I guess you might still have to, though, as I am not an expert in transplants." Addison explained, "I am a dermatologist."

"Then, how about we all sit down in the conference room first, before we get into real medical issues? This way please." Meredith interrupted the conversation and faked a smile.

* * *

"So, our patient is a six-years-old girl diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia a month ago. We caught it very early, so after a round of chemo, we have get rid of all cancer cells. So according to the protocol in treating young kids with ALL, the next step is bone marrow transplantation." Lexie scrolled down the page on her tablet and continued, "After checking with UNOS and different private cord blood banks, we discovered that your son, Henry's cord blood is a match with our patient. So before we can actually use your son's cord blood, we have some paperwork to do."

"Alright. How many papers do I need to sign on?"

"Just one. This is a donation agreement and a declaration form, stating that you are donating completely up to your own wishes. There is no advantages been given to you in any form." Addison nodded and quickly scribbled his name on the paper.

"All done. Henry's cord blood is in the cooler right here." Addison gave Meredith the cooler she has been holding. "Make good use of it."

"We will." Meredith smiled at Addison and turned around. Just before she walks out of the door, Addison stopped her, "Wait!"

"Yes?"

"I was wondering, um, can Henry and I take a look at how you prepare the cord blood? I wanted to show him that his blood is helping another kid."

Meredith and Lexie exchanged a glance and nodded, "Yeah, of course. Please come with us."

"They looked like a really happy family, right?" Lexie whispered to Meredith as she carefully took the blood out of the cooler. "I mean, I have nothing against single parents. I AM a single mom myself. But look at them. It makes people feel like everyone should be a single parent."

Meredith looked at her sister and whispered back, "Shush… Don't be so loud! You don't know whether they can hear us or not. And you realize you are not making any sense right?"

"Come on, they are outside the room. There's a glass between us. And we are really not that loud." Lexie answered. "Look at that woman. I think she is gorgeous. Like a movie star."

"Yeah, she looks like Isabella freaking Rossellini. Seriously how can a dermatologist look like that? Shouldn't they look like us? Covered in vomit and faeces and urine and all sort of things, with the messy hair and zombie-like face and three days old scrubs?" Meredith replied.

"I don't know. Maybe I should be a dermatologist." Lexie shrugged and gave the Addison and Henry an assuring smile as her eyes met with theirs. "Okay, we are done."

"Thank god." Meredith gently shook the bag of blood and stared at the fluid inside, "Isn't it amazing? This is actually going to give a little girl a second life."

"I can't wait to see Zola running around in the hospital again."

"Yeah, me too."

* * *

"Okay. So later you are gonna feel something warm coming into your body, then you will feel much better." Meredith adjusted the drip rate of the transfusion tubes and patted Zola's head.

"I am going to feel so much better? Like I can finally leave the hospital?"

"Yes, you are. I promise I am taking you to the park once you feel better." Derek hugged his daughter and said. He looked at Meredith gratefully, she smiled at him, then she recalled that night in Zola's room… Her face turned into bright red almost instantly. She quickly turned her head to look at the floor and coughed awkwardly.

"Um, is the donor's family here? I would really want to meet with them and say thank you to them." Derek held Zola's hand tightly and asked, "I want to thank them for saving my baby girl."

"I am sorry… I really want to help you, but recipients are not supposed to meet with donors to prevent any conflict of interest." Meredith sighed and said, "I still got work to do, I have to go now."

"Will you come back later?" Zola blinked innocently and asked, Meredith nodded and quietly walked out of the room.

* * *

Few hours later, when Meredith returns, she could only see Zola sitting on her bed alone, playing with a doll.

"Hey, where's your daddy?"

"Meredith!" The little girl gets a lot better apparently. She grinned at Meredith and yelled, "Thank you!"

"Thank me? For what?" Meredith replied amused.

"For making me better! And for finding my mommy for me!"

"Your mommy?" Meredith frowned as she heard the word "mommy". According to Mark, Derek's wife left him right after Zola was adopted, There's no way Zola can meet with her…

"Dr. Grey?" A voice brought Meredith back to the reality. She saw Addison Montgomery walking out of the bathroom and smiled at her gracefully. "I am sorry, I know that I wasn't supposed to meet with Zola, but I really want to see what Henry's blood can do… I hope I didn't cause any trouble."

"Well, it's nothing. Just that, um, Zola seems to have thought of you as her mom." Meredith said, "She always think that her mommy is an angel and will come to cure her disease."

"Addie?" The door was pulled open and Mark's voice appeared. Meredith turned around and looked at him. His face is making a strange expression, kind of like the face someone would make when they saw a ghost.

"You… know each other?"

"Addison?" Before Mark can answer her, Derek appears by the door as well. Meredith turned around to look at Addison and saw her guilty face. Suddenly, she knows she has found the answer of her own question.

"This is Addison," Mark answered bitterly, "Derek's ex-wife, who walked out on him when he needed her the most."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I can't tell you guys how sorry I am for making you guys wait! It has been like a month since I last update, I guess? I am really sorry but I really don't have much time to type. Thank you for being patient and big hugs for everyone who have been waiting for me!

* * *

Chapter 9

"What the hell are you doing here." Derek asked calmly. Even though his tone sounded calm, everyone can feel his anger lying under all the calmness. Addison looked at him with a guilty face and explained,

"I, uh, I didn't mean to disturb your life. I am here with… my son, my adopted son, Henry. He is a cord blood donor. I know I am not supposed to meet with the recipient, but I really want to see a sick kid getting better because of my son. So I came. Derek, I really don't know it's Zola, and I…"

"Stop. I don't want to hear another word from you." Derek said as he glared at Addison with venom in his eyes. Before he can continue, Mark faked to cough vigorously and said,

"Um, Dr. Grey… Do you think Zola can go to play with other kids for a bit?"

"Uh… Of course! Come on, let's go to the play room, and make some new friends!" Lexie nodded and get Zola into a wheelchair, heading to the play room.

"Daddy? Are you coming with me?" Zola asked as Lexie wheeled her past Derek. He patted her head gently and smiled, "You go first. I will meet you there later."

Zola grinned at her daddy and let Lexie wheeled her to the playroom happily. She has absolutely no idea what is going to happen in her room. Once Zola is out of sight, Derek's smile disappeared and anger climbed onto his face again.

"I don't care why you came, just get out. Get out of our life and don't ever comeback. Go as far as you could, preferably another continent. I don't want to see your face ever again." Derek said angrily and stomped to the playroom.

Addison sat on the chair next to the bed and sighed. She buried her face in her palms and quietly sob. Mark wanted to go after his friend initially, but he couldn't move another step forward as he heard Addison crying. He stopped beside her and patted her back gently. She looked up, pulled a small smile at her old friend and whispered a quiet "thank you" as she sniffed her nose.

Mark pulled a few tissue paper from the box and handed to her, "Addie…"

"It's alright Mark. I know he hates me. And I totally deserved that. I better get back to my son now. Thanks for the tissue by the way."

"Yeah… You should probably go." Mark looked sympathetically at her and said, "Give him some time and maybe he will be less bitter."

"I doubt that."

"Yeah, I doubt that too… Anyway, how long are you staying?"

"A week, I think."

"Okay, so we are gonna find a day and have dinner together. You haven't change your number have you?"

"No, still that one. Thanks Mark, really."

"It's nothing at all. I will see you around."

"Alright." Addison hugged him before picking up her bag and head towards the door. "Oh, Dr Grey?"

"Mm?" Meredith, who has been standing by the door all this time and being ignored, looked at the red-head surprised as she called her name suddenly.

"Thank you."

"You are welcome." She mumbled these words and watched Addison left the room gracefully.

"What is that?" Meredith asked Mark with a puzzled look.

"Well, um, you kind of know the story already, but you probably don't know Addison is Derek's ex wife. She left him alone taking care of an infant without leaving even a note. Derek talked to almost everyone to find her, and when he finally found her in LA, Addie said she left because she wasn't ready to be a mother. Derek asked, no, begged her to stay for him, but she refused." Mark sighed and explained. He was there when his best friends broke up, and he saw how broken Derek was after the ugly divorce. He completely understands why Derek treated Addie so badly, but as Addison's best friend, he can't really be mad at her for leaving and for perusing a life she wants.

Meredith bit her lips and looked down at the floor. She feel her heart aching for him. She knows all about being left behind, having people walking out of her life, thanks to her mother. She is just not sure whether she should go after him, she looked at Mark, who gave her an assuring nod.

"Go. If there's anyone who can get to him now, it's you." Mark patted her shoulder and grinned.

"But what if he just wanted to be left alone?" Meredith mumbled.

"You can't leave him alone. Derek has a history of hiding and walking away when things get difficult. He need someone to drag him out from that deep, dark hole."

"And you know I am the one? How?"

"Because I am his best friend. I am basically his better half, well, thebetter looking half, of course. Anyway, I know you are the right person. Now go, do you want me to kick your butt or something?"

* * *

"Damn it." Meredith mumbled as she marched down the hallway or the hospital. Does this stupid hospital gets bigger whenever she is looking for someone? She peeked at the yard behind the car park, and saw a pinch of black hair near a tree. She gently pushed open the door and tip toed.

"Do you know I vomited right here after my first ever shift." Meredith said as she sat down beside Derek on the grass. "It was my first day as an intern, I can still remember my first patient. Her name is Katie, she fell during one of her rhymic gymnastic practice and ruptured a tiny aneurysm in her brain. She was a typical spoiled teenage girl, and she was so annoying that I ignored her page. By the time I got to her room, it was already ten minutes later and she was seizing like a fish on dry land. I was terrified and had no idea what to do. I shock her twice, and somehow I miraculously got her back. My resident praised me but I felt so guilty. I almost killed a girl just because she is a dumb 15 years old. I did this job to save someone, not to kill someone. That feeling made my guts churned inside of me, so I ran to the corner and emptied everything in me."

"Okay, what's your point." Derek sighed and interrupted her. "I like you, and I like everything you say, but I am honestly in no mood for stories and anecdotes."

"I had a point." Meredith cleared her throat uncomfortably, "But I forgot what my point was. Damn it. Damn my brain."

"I think it's cute." Derek laughed as he watch her cheek turning redder and redder. "Did Mark send you here?"

"Uh, well…"

"He always wanted me and Addison get back together. No matter how many times I said I am not going to."

"Maybe he just don't want you to lose a friend."

"So you think I should forgive her too? After what she did to me and Zola?"

"Honestly, yes. She might have walked out of your marriage, walked out on you, she is irresponsible. But that is years ago. She has a new life, you have a new life, you can't move on unless you put everything behind you. Forgiving Addison is the first step of putting things behind." Meredith stared right into Derek's eyes and said. "I will leave you alone to think about it."


End file.
